Image caption
Kibuuka had sexual relationships with two of his wife's sisters

A man has been found guilty of murdering his wife with a sledgehammer and knife after drugging his children.

George Kibuuka, 48, killed 40-year-old Margaret at their home in Richville Road, Shirley, Southampton, in 2009.

Kibuuka, who admitted the killing but denied murder due to diminished responsibility, then stabbed himself and drank pesticide.

Mr Justice Royce at Winchester Crown Court jailed Kibuuka for life with a minimum term of 16 years.

It took jurors five hours to reach a verdict.

Complaint to police

Kibuuka had also denied drugging three of his children so they would not witness the attack, by putting sleeping tablets into their trifle and fizzy drinks.

Jurors found him guilty by a majority verdict on the charge of murder, and by a unanimous verdict on all other charges.

Earlier in the trial, the court heard part-time carer Mrs Kibuuka had started divorce proceedings, claiming her husband had been violent towards her and had had sexual relationships with two of her sisters.

Mrs Kibuuka complained to police about her husband's violence and emotional abuse in the weeks before her death.

The defence team for Kibuuka, who earned £90,000 a year from his job and owned four houses, said he was suffering from an "abnormality of mind" as a result of his early life in Uganda.

'Exceptional wife'

The court heard he had been beaten and raped as a child, sexually abused by neighbours, and that his teenage mother had abandoned him.

But sentencing Kibuuka, Justice Royce said the killing had been clearly planned and cold and calculated and stemmed from his anger at the divorce.

Image caption
Officers in chemical protection suits were called to the couple's home after Kibuuka drank pesticide

Justice Royce said: "Your wife was, by all accounts, a wonderful mother and appears to have been an exceptional wife.

"You however embarked on a sexual relationship, first with one of her sisters, and then on a longer sexual relationship with another of her sisters who gave birth to one of your children.

"So far as divorce proceedings were concerned you were angry at her pursuing them.

"This was a terrible savage killing of a gentle and loving mother," said the judge.

In a statement after the verdict, Mrs Kibuuka's family said: "May Margaret's soul rest in peace.

"She was a good mum, our sister, and a best friend to everyone.

"We will not forget her she will always be in our hearts.

"Everyone who knew her found her an exceptional person full of kindness and warmth."